The Duke Global Health Institute recently went through an external review confirming Duke’s leading position in the area of global health and focus in interdisciplinary studies.
Although the review—conducted as part of the University’s standard plan to review all signature institutes—identified places for improvement within the institute, such as stabilizing its financial model, the report was overall positive and praised the institute's model for continuous interdisciplinarity. The office of Susan Roth, vice provost for interdisciplinary studies, initiated the external review.
“The Global Health Institute has not only led incredible educational programs and having a real impact around the world, it has been a real leader as well in the kinds of global opportunities for our students and faculty,” Roth said.
During the review process, external reviewers came for a two-day visit, which included intensive meetings with the researchers, faculty and administrators affiliated with the institute, Roth said. These meetings were followed by verbal feedback and an ultimate report is made by the end. A self-study conducted by the institute internally was also an important part of the review process.
Reviews following this protocol are given to all University institutes that were named in a 2006 strategic plan. Five reviews have been conducted in the past year, including the most recent one on DGHI.
Positive report
Roth said the reviewers were especially impressed with the progress made at the institute in a relatively short period of time since it was established in 2006—including the amounts of collaborative research, educational programs and engagement around the world. The reviewers also ranked Duke as one of the top four global health programs in the country.
“I think that one of the telling things was that the reviewers said to us, ‘we should have paid you to come here,’” she said.
The reviewers also recognized the unique teaching model used by DGHI, which allows faculty to divide their time between their home tenure department and the institute, said Michael Merson, director of DGHI and Wolfgang Joklik professor of Global Health, in an email June 20.
“This structure enables collaborative and interdisciplinary work, cross-pollinates schools in the study of global health and offers a robust set of skills to students,” Merson said.
Sustainability, University collaboration and future growth are three areas of potential improvement the reviewers focused on, said Randall Kramer, deputy director of DGHI and professor of environmental economics and global health in the Nicholas School of the Environment.
“[The report] emphasized the need for a sustainable financial model, the need to continue offering incentives to encourage faculty involvement and to continue to assess the quality of programs and find new sources of funding for future activities,” Kramer wrote in an email June 19.
An interdisciplinary model
Roth noted that DGHI will continue to be an important focus of Duke that facilitates the University’s overall emphasis on interdisciplinary studies. DGHI, along with the Institute for Brain Sciences and the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, is one of the three signature institutes in partnership with the School of Medicine.
“The signature institutes were the units that we really wanted to focus on to encourage educational missions, scholarly missions, multidisciplinary collaborative scholarship and engagement outside of the University,” Roth said.
Merson said the review identified DGHI’s organizational model as a key factor in its success, and referred to Duke as the “go-to” university for multidisciplinary opportunities to study global health.
“I think [the institute] is a terrific model for the University’s interdisciplinary studies. It will be able to bring the medical school, the engineering school, the business school and all the undergraduates all service in the area of global health,” said Nelson Chao, professor of medicine, immunology, pathology and global health and research professor of DGHI.
The reviewers also pointed out the difficulty other universities have had accomplishing this level of interdisciplinarity.
“While many universities promote interdisciplinary approaches, Duke has created structures and mechanisms that make it attractive to faculty work with colleagues in other parts of the university,” Kramer said. “This has certainly contributed to the success of DGHI in carrying out its research and education mission.”
Future plans
Roth also noted that no significant structural changes will be made to the Institute, unlike IGSP, where the institute was dismantled and restructured following a similar review.
“Based on findings of the report, we plan to continue to strengthen our existing structures and systems, and to continue our focus of delivering quality education programs and delivering important research outcomes,” Kramer said.
The review did not identify any current programs of the institute to be cut due to low quality. In terms of strategic plans for the future, attention will continue to be paid to expand the educational portfolio by linking students pursuing a Master's of Science in global health to a broader graduate student community, Merson said.
The review also concluded that DGHI’s research priorities are consistent with evolving changes in the global burden of disease and align with Duke’s strengths and international partnerships, Merson said.
Chao pointed out that the future of DGHI might feature collaboration with Duke Kunshan University.
“The focus on women/maternal health, cancer and global illness might lead to expansion. [The University’s] got a home in Kunshan,” he said. “[The efforts] might expand into China, and the large areas around Kunshan University, and probably allows global health in China to develop further.”
Roth, however, confirmed that there has not been any serious conversation ongoing about the institute becoming its own department separate from the School of Medicine.
“Whether or not it’s an aspiration of some of the faculty in the institute I cannot say, but that is not a conversation that is ongoing at this time,” she said.
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